Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
An updated survey tool will be released for SNF surveyors that places stricter focus on infection control policies. Plans for the updated tool, based on information gathered from the COVID-19 outbreak at Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, was announced by the federal government on March 23. The CDC determined that in under three weeks […]
Providers in the U.S. will have a specific ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for the COVID-19 virus beginning April 1. During a March 18 meeting, the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee announced that it would adopt the World Health Organization (WHO) code, U07.1 (COVID-19), effective April 1. Previously, the panel had planned to implement the code beginning […]
CMS has released a document responding to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the coronavirus. The document includes 21 questions and responses for health care providers related to COVID-19. The FAQs discuss telehealth and in-home services as well as billing for testing patients at risk for the coronavirus. Related link: Read the FAQs online at https://go.cms.gov/3d9eLeH.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is supporting clinicians on the front lines by getting red tape out of the way so the healthcare delivery system can focus on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) response. CMS is implementing additional extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy exceptions and extensions for upcoming quality measure reporting and […]
Just as employers were taking a look at a bill in Congress aimed at providing paid leave for employees affected by the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, the House-passed legislation took on changes in the Senate. As of early March 17, no Senate vote had been scheduled. Worries from business interests have resulted in a scaling back of […]
Just as employers were taking a look at a bill in Congress aimed at providing paid leave for employees affected by the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, the House-passed legislation took on changes in the Senate. As of early March 17, no Senate vote had been scheduled. Worries from business interests have resulted in a scaling back of […]
In order to address provider’s concerns regarding COVID-19, we have created a coronavirus forum where providers can connect with one another. The forum can include topics such as supplies, visitation, concerns, regulations, mandates, infection control, payment, staffing, etc. You’re not alone in this, we have you covered. Visit the forum to post questions, concerns, and […]
CMS is providing guidance to home health agencies and dialysis facilities concerning the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance gives information to healthcare workers specifically regarding screening, treatment and transfer procedures when working with patients. The guidance includes a frequently asked question section as well. The purpose of the guidance is to protect those who receive both […]
In its new guidance released March 13, CMS requires SNFs to take staff members’ temperatures and perform other screening tasks at the beginning of each shift: Screen all staff at the beginning of their shift for fever and respiratory symptoms. Actively take their temperature and document absence of shortness of breath, new or change in […]
The new measures CMS announced today, which supersede prior CMS guidance, constitute the agency’s most aggressive and decisive recommendations with respect to nursing home safety in the face of the spread of COVID-19. They include: Restricting all visitors, effective immediately, with exceptions for compassionate care, such as end-of-life situations. In these cases, visitors will be […]